Automatic pin injector

ABSTRACT

An automatic pin injector for positioning pins within an axial bore of a grill bar including a spring biased plunger axially reciprocal from an initial position to a driving position, a forward pin chamber section which receives the end of a grill bar therein, the pin chamber section including an intake slot and pin pick up which is initiated by the insertion of the grill bar within the intake slot and a micro switch which trips upon seating the grill bar within the intake slot, an air cylinder responsive to operation of the micro switch to pull the plunger rearwardly against the bias of one of its springs, a plunger release which functions upon the rearward movement of the plunger to release the plunger and a plunger spring to propel the plunger forwardly to drive a pin into the axial bore upon function of the plunger release.

iii err Sept. 11, 1973 AUTOMATIC PIN INJECTOR [75] Inventor: Robert L.Herr, Manheim, Pa.

[73] Assignee: Rimar Manufacturing, Inc.,

v Manheim, Pa.

22 Filed: May 30, 1972 21 Appl. No: 257,876

[52] U.S. Cl 227/7, 227/116, 227/132 I20 IO Primary Examiner-GranvilleY. Custer, Jr.- Attorney-Karl L. Spivak [57] ABSTRACT An automatic pininjector for positioning pins within an axial bore of a grill barincluding a spring biased plunger axially reciprocal from an initialposition to a driving position, a forward pin chamber section whichreceives the end of a grill bar therein, the pin chamber sectionincluding an intake slot and pin pick up which is initiated by theinsertion of the grill bar within the in take slot and a micro switchwhich trips upon seating the grill bar within the intake slot, an aircylinder responsive to operation of the micro switch to pull the plungerrearwardly against the bias of one of its springs, a plunger releasewhich functions upon the rearward movement of the plunger to release theplunger and a plunger spring to propel the plunger forwardly to drive apin into the axial bore upon function of the plunger release. 1

12 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures PATENTED 1 sum 3 or 3lllllllllllllllllllllllllll w OE AUTOMATIC rnv iNiEcron BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION This invention relates to the general field of decorativewindow grills, and more particularly, is directed to an automatic pinsetting machine designed to facilitate the installation of pins into theaxial bores of grill bars for removably securing a decorative windowgrill to a window frame.

In view of the increasing costs involved in the prior art practice ofmanufacturing windows having four, six or eight individual lights ofglass which are retained within a wooden frame by employing a pluralityof horizontal and vertical frame bars, it has become increasingly morepopular to manufacture window sash having but a single pane of glasswhich is affixed within a pcripheral wooden or metallic frame. Byemploying such asingle glass pane and an undivided frame construction,all of the millwork formerly associated with the multi-light type ofwindow fabrication can thus be eliminated, thereby resultinginsubstantial production cost savings. In this manner, windowmanufacturers can now produce and offer for sale at substantially lowerprices, a sash having but a single light of glass.

In order to maintain the aesthically pleasing appearance of themulti-light type of sash, and at the same time gain the advantages andproduction economies made possible by the single light type ofconstruction, the use of removable, decorative grill bar assemblies hasgained increasingly wide spread acceptance. Decorative grillsconstructed of both wood and plastic bars have been employed by priorworkers in the field and present trends indicate greatly increased useof such grills in the future. The method of removably fastening thedecorative bars to the window sash has always proved to be a problem andconsiderable time and effort has been spent by prior workers in thefield to design acceptable attaching means. One such attaching means hasbeen disclosed in the patent to Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 3,35 8,412 whereina collar pin installation is shown in connection with grill bars havingaxial bars.

The said collar pins have been used to insert directly into the woodensash immediately in front of the glass and to leave an exposed headwhich engages the axial bore to the window frame. The present inventionrelates to the same general problem and incorporates an automatic pininjector which is employed to position pins partially within the axialbore of the grill bars prior to applying the grill bars to a windowframe. Means would then have to be provided in the frame to removablyreceive the exposed end of the pin.

Machines for applying pins to the wooden members such as window framesare known, and these machines are adapted to handle pins which areoriented in the same direction, which are aligned adjacent to each otherand which are held as a single unit by an adhesive.

tape system. One such machine is disclosed in an application by Iaul S.Newswanger, entitled Decorative Grill Pin Setting Machine", Sei'. No.863,177, filed Oct. 2, 1969, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,623,648, issued Nov.30, I971, and assigned to the assignee of this application.

to accommodate plastic window dividers having axially aligned boreswhich can be snapped in place over the pins. The present machine issimilar in concept and functions to position the pins directly in theaxial bores of the grill bars prior to application over a window frame.

The present invention relates to :an automatic pin injection machinewhich-is designed to facilitate the positioning and installation ofgrill retaining pins in an automatic manner and serves to provide anextremely inexpensive, rapid and infallable device for positioning anddriving grill retaining pins into the exposed ends of axially alignedbores of individual grill bars.

The automatic pin injector of the present invention incorporates aforward pinning section which is provided with a shaped intake openingto receive one end of a grill bar for pin insertion purposes. As thegrill bar feeds into the pinning section, it trips a pin pickup deviceto automatically feed a pin into the pin chamber in axial alignment withthe axial bore of the grill bar. When the grill bar fully seats withinthe pinning section, the end of the grill bar trips a micro switch tofunction an air cylinder which powers the apparatus for pin injectionpurposes. The air cylinder operates to pull a spring biased plungerrearwardly relative to the inserted end of the grill bar. The plunger isreleasably connected to the air cylinder draw arms by means of a pivotaltrigger which is pulled in rearwardly upon operation of the aircylinder. The pivotal trigger is rearwardly pulled into a stationaryrelease which functions to pivot the trigger to release the plunger. Aplunger spring urges the plunger forwardly until itstrikes thepreviously aligned pin and drives it'a predetermined distance into theaxial bore of the grill bar. After each driving operation, the aircylinder recycles to reposition the trigger for releasable connection tothe plunger. By-utilizing the present device, the grill retain ing pinsmay now be rapidly, positively and automatically positioned within theends of grill bars at the factory to thereby eliminate all of fieldhandling and time consuming operations on the job site.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide animproved automatic pin injector of the typ lo the said co-pendingapplication, the machine hanset forth.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novelautomatic pin injector that is designed to automatically and rapidlyinsert a grill pin into the axial bore of a decorative grill bar.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a novelautomatic pin injector that considerably accellerates grill pininsertion procedures by providing positive and accurate, factoryinstalled pin driving procedures.

' It is another object of the present invention to provide a novelautomaticpin injector that is rugged in construction, simple in designand trouble free when in use.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had byreferring to the following descrip tion and claims of a preferredembodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawingswherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout theseveral views and in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is perspective view of anautomatic pin injector in accordancewith the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a partial, enlarged, top plan view of the pinning section andpin chamber, partially broken away to expose details of interiorconstruction. I

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the pinning section and pin chambertaken along Line 4-4 of FIG. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows,and partially broken away to expose interior construction details.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view taken along Line 55 of FIG. 3 lookingin the direction of the arrows, and partially broken away to exposedetails of interior construction.

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the device taken along Line 6-6 ofFIG. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows showing the apparatus inthe initial position, and partially broken away to expose interiordetails.

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 6, showing thearrangement of parts in the pin driving condition.

FIG. 8 is a side elevational view similar to FIG, 6 showing the positionof the parts as the plunger is biased rearwardly toward its initialposition.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along Line 99 of FIG.3, looking in the direction of the arrows.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Althoughspecific terms are used in the following description for the sake ofclarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particularstructure of my invention selected for illustration in the drawings andare not intended to define or limit the scopeof the invention.

Referring now to FIG. 1, I show an automatic pin injector machine 110which includes a base plate 12 upon which a forward pinning section 14is mounted to receive a grill bar 16 therein. The pin chamber section 18positions immediately behind the pinning section 14 and carries aninclined pin track 20 to feed pins 22 individually into the section 18for injection into the end bores of grill bars 16. The drive section 24aligns behind the pin chamber section 18 and includes the air cylinder26, the trigger assembly 28 and the plunger assembly 30.

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, I show the pinning section 14 providedwith a horizontally aligned intake slot 32 which is shaped to snuglyreceive one end of a decorative grill bar 16 therein. If desired, theforward end 34 may be flared at 36 to facilitate the introduction of thegrill bar 16 into the slot 32. A crank 38 pivots within the grill barguide 40 about its pivot pin 42 from an upper position (not shown)wherein the crank 38 is urged upwardly into the intake slot 32 to alower position wherein the crank downwardly depresses the strut 44. Asillustrated in FIG. 4, when the grill bar 16 inserts into the intakeslot 32, the bar contacts the crank to pivot the crank in acounterclockwise direction about the pivot pin 42. The counterclockwisemovement of the crank 38 results in vertical downward movement of thestrut 44 which reciprocates within an opening 46 which is provided inthe base plate 12. The strut 44 in turn functions the lever 48 which haspivotal movement about its pivot pin 50. A compression spring 52 biasesbetween the bottom of the base plate I2 and the top of the lever 48 tocontinuously urge the lever 48 in a counterclockwise rotation about thepivot pin 50. The

bias of the spring 52 continuously functions the lever 48 to urge thestrut 44 upwardly to tend to rotate the crank 38 in a clockwisedirection about the pivot pin 42 so that aportion of the crank 38normally positions within the intake slot 32, when there is no grill bar16 present.

As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the rearward end of 54 of the lever 48functions a vertical pin pickup 56 through a resilient connection whichmay be a coil spring 58. As illustrated, the pin track 20 feeds pins 22into the interior of the pin chamber section 18 at an angle ofapproximately 30 from the horizontal. Each pin 22 is horizontallyoriented and is urged towards the vertical channel 62 within which thepin pickup 56'reciprocates. It will benoted that thev pin pickup 56 isreciprocal from a lower position as illustrated in FIG. 5 to an upperposition which is illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 5. The lowerposition, as shown in full lines, corresponds to the position of thelever 48 when there is no grill bar 16 positioned within the intake slot32 to thereby allow the crank 38 to clockwise rotate into the slot 32under urging of the spring 52. When a grill bar 16 is pushed into theintake slot 32, as shown in FIG. 4, the crank 38 rotates in acounterclockwise direction to downwardly push the strut 44 to pivot thelever 48 in a clockwise direction about the pivot pin 50 and against thebias of the spring 52. In this condition, the pin pickup 56 is urged toits upper position as illustrated in dotted lines in FIG. 5 to push apin 22 upwardly to the pin driving position which aligns with theplunger pin 64 and the axial bore 66 of the grill bar 16 as hereinaftermore fully set forth. It will be noted in FIG. 3 that the forward end 68of the grill bar 16 trips the operating arm 70 of the micro switch 72when the grill bar is fully seated within the intake slot 32 to functionthe air cylinder 26 in conventional manner, such as by functioning apneumatic valve (not shown).

The air cylinder 26 is affixed to the base plate 12 and is energized bya conventional source of compressed air (not shown) which is controlledby operation of the micro switch 72., The piston rod 74 is poweredrearwardly by function of the cylinder 26 and is affixed to a crosshead76 in conventional manner such as by bolting. A pair of transverselyspaced draw arms 78, 80 position on either side of the piston 26 andaffix to the crosshead 76 in bolted connections 82, 84. The draw arms78, 80 forwardly connect to the sliding blocks 86, 88 which are movedrelative to a base plate 12 upon function of the air cylinder 26. Atrigger 90 is pivotally A roller 98 is rotatively suspended upon a shaft100 which journals within a pair of spaced, stationary blocks 102, 104which are stationarily positioned upon the base plate 12. The roller 98is suspended above the surface of the base plate 12 a sufficientdistance to engage the trailing edge 106 of the trigger 90. Accordingly,when the cylinder 26 functions to pull the draw arms 78, 80 rearwardly,the sliding blocks 86, 88 are also moved rearwardly to cause theinclined surface 96 to ride under the roller 98. The interaction of theinclined surface 96 and the roller 98 causes the trigger 90 to pivot ina counterclockwise direction about the trigger pivot pin 92 to therebyelevate the hook 94 for plunger release purposes.

As seen in FIGS. 1, and 2, the plunger assembly 30 is arranged for axialmovement relative to the plunger block 108. The plunger assemblyincludes an elongate cylindrical body 110 which terminates forwardly ina cylindrical shoulder 112 and rearwardly in a trigger block 114. Theplunger pin 94 axially aligns with the plunger body 110 and forwardlyprojects from the cylindrical shoulder 112 for pin driving purposes. Thetrigger block 114 includes a stop surface 116 upon which the triggerhook 94 engages in the initial position. The trigger hook 94 includes abottom cam surface 118 and the trigger block 1 14 includes a cooperatingupper cam surface 120. The surfaces 118, 120 slide past each other toload the plunger to its initial position following completion of a pininjection cycle. See FIG. 8.

The plunger assembly 30 includes a forward coil spring 122 and arearward coil spring 124 for plunger operation purposes. The forwardcoil spring 122 biases between the forward face 126 of the plunger block108 and the shoulder 112 and the rearward coil spring 124 biases betweenthe rearward face 128 of the plunger block and the trigger block 114. Apair of springs 130, 132 (FIG. 1 and 2) biases between the slidingblocks 86,88 and thefixed blocks 102, 104 to continuously urge thetrigger assembly 28 to its forward position wherein the trigger hook 94engages the trigger block 114.

In operation, a grill bar 16 is inserted into the intake slot 32 of thegrill bar guide 40. As the grill bar enters the slot, it depresses thecrank 38 to urge the lever 48 in a clockwise direction about its pivotpin 50 and against the bias of the. spring 52. The rearward end 54 ofthe lever 48 pushes the pin pickup 56 upwardly within the verticalchannel 60 to push a pin 22 from its lower position as illustrated infull lines in FIG. 5 to its axially aligned position wherein the pin 22axially aligns with the plunger pin 64 and the axial bore 66 of thegrill bar 16. As the grill bar is pushed further into the intake slot32, its forward end 68 contacts the operating arm 70 which tires themicro switch 72 to thereby energize the air cylinder 26. See FIG. 3.

The energization of the air cylinder 26 pressurizes its piston (notshown) which then pushes the piston rod 74 rearwardly. The piston rodaffixed crosshead 76 and the spaced draw arms 78, 80 are also pushedrearwardly by action of the air cylinder 26. The rearward movement ofthe draw arms 78, 80 rearwardly pulls the affixed sliding blocks 86, 88to urge the. inclined surface 96 of the trigger 90 into engagement withthe underside of the roller 98 as seen in FIG. 7. The action of theroller 98 on the inclined surface 96 rotates the trigger 90 in acounterclockwise movement about the pivot pin 92 to disengage the hookportion 94 of the trigger from the trigger block 114 of the plungerassembly 30. It will be noted that as the trigger 90 is rearwardlypulled by the draw arms 78, 80, the plunger assembly 30 will also berearwardly pulled until the hook 94 disengages from the trigger blockstop surface 116. When the plunger body 110 is rearwardly pulled, theforward coil spring 122 compresses between the forward face 126 and theshoulder 112 to build up engergy for pin injection purposes. When theplunger assembly fires upon lifting of the hook 94 as illustrated inFIG. 7, the build up energy of the forward coil spring 122 propels thepiston body forwardly to forwardly move the plunger pin 64 within theaxially aligned channels 134, 136 of the respective alignment block 138and pin chamber block 140. The stroke of the plunger pin 64 pushes a pin22 which has been aligned with the channel 136 by operation of the pinpickup 56 into the axial bore 66 of the grill bar 16. Preferably, thealignment block 138 is longitudinally adjustable relative to the pinchamber block 140 so that the depth of pin injection into the bore 66can be readily controlled by means of a simple adjustment. The alignmentblock 138 serves as a forward stop for the plunger shoulder 112 andaccordingly, this block may be used to determine the depth of pininsertion.

As may be seen in FIGS. 7 and 8, forward movement of the plungerassembly 30 compresses the rearward coil spring 124 between the plungerblock 108 and the trigger block 114. Immediately following the pininsertion operation, the spring 124 acts to propel the plunger bodyrearwardly until the bottom cam surface 118 of the hook 94 slides uponthe upper cam surface of the trigger block 114. The stored energy of thecoil spring 124 urges the trigger block 114 rearwardly past the hookportion 94 (FIG. 8) until the upper and lower cam surfaces 120, 118slide clear of each other to again'lock the hook 94 over the stopsurface 116 of the trigger block 114 as in FIG. 6.. The removal of thepin grill bar 16 and the insertion of another grill bar into the intakeslot 32 acts to automatically repeat the entire cyclical operation.

Although I have described the present invention with reference toparticular embodiments therein set forth, it is understood that thepresent disclosure has been made only by way .of example and thatnumerous changes in the details of construction may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, thescope of the invention should not be limited by the foregoingspecification, but rather only by the scope of the claims appendedhereto.

I claim:

1. In an automatic pin injector suitable to drive pins into the axialbore of a construction member, the combination of i i A. a grill barguide having an intake slot therein to receive one end of a constructionmember therein;

B. crank means operable within the grill bar guide from an upperposition to a lower position to function a pin pickup means,

l. a portion of said crank means extending into the intake slot when inthe upper position;

C. apin chamber section spaced rearwardly from the grill bar guide, i

I. said pin chamber section having channel which axially aligns with thebore of the construction member,

2. said pin chamber section including pin feed means to introduce pinsinteriorly,

3. said pin chamber section including the pin pickup means to feed pinsindividually to the channel when the crank is moved to its said lowerposition; i

D. a plunger assembly including a plunger pin which is reciprocal withinthe said channel for pin driving purposes; from a loaded position to apin driving position;

E. a trigger assembly operatively and releasably engaged with theplunger assembly to control the reciprocation of the plunger; and

F. power means to move portions of the trigger as sembly and the plungerassembly relative to the grill bar guide when a construction member isinserted into the said intake slot.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the power means include a microswitch positioned in the said pin chamber section.

3. The invention of claim 2 and a hydraulic cylinder responsive tofunction of the micro switch, the hydraulic cylinder acting to pull theplunger to a loaded position upon oeration of the mirco switch.

4. The invention of claim 3 wherein the end of the construction memberfunctions the micro switch when the construction member fully seatswithin the intake slot.

5. The invention of claim 4 wherein insertion of construction memberinto the intake slot also operates the crank to its said lower position.

6. The invention of claim 5 wherein the trigger assembly includes apivotal trigger, said trigger terminating forwardly in a hook andrearwardly in an inclined surface, the said hook releasably engaging thesaid plunger assembly. 7

7. The invention of claim 6 and a roller positioned rearwardly of thetrigger, the said inclined surface in- 30 hook to engage the triggerteracting with the roller to pivot the trigger when the power means pullthe trigger rearwardly to thereby release the hook from the plungerassembly.

8. The invention of claim 7 wherein the plunger assembly includes astationary plunger block and a plunger body which is reciprocal withrespect to the plunger block, said plunger body terminating forwardlyina shoulder and rearwardly in a trigger block, the said plunger pinprojecting forwardly from the shoulder.

9. The invention of claim 8 wherein a first spring biases between theplunger block and the shoulder, said first spring building up energywhen the trigger assembly is pulled rearwardly, said energy propellingthe plunger forwardly for pin driving purposes when the hook is releasedfrom the plunger assembly.

10. The invention of claim 9 and a second spring which biases betweenthe plunger block and the trigger block, said second spring building upenergy when the plunger is propelled forwardly, said energy serving tourge the plunger rearwardly following completion of the pin drivinguntil the hook reengages the plunger assembly.

11. The invention of claim 10 wherein the said hook releasably engagesthe trigger block.

12. The invention of claim 11 wherein the hook is provided with a bottomcam surface and the trigger block is provided with an upper cam surface,the said upper and lower cam surfaces sliding relative to each other asthe plunger is propelled rearwardly, said cam surfaces interacting topivot the trigger to allow the block.

1. In an automatic pin injector suitable to drive pins into the axialbore of a construction member, the combination of A. a grill bar guidehaving an intake slot therein to receive one end of a constructionmember therein; B. crank means operable within the grill bar guide froman upper position to a lower position to function a pin pickup means, 1.a portion of said crank means extending into the intake slot when in theupper position; C. a pin chamber section spaced rearwardly from thegrill bar guide,
 1. said pin chamber section having channel whichaxially aligns with the bore of the construction member,
 2. said pinchamber section including pin feed means to introduce pins interiorly,3. said pin chamber section including the pin pickup means to feed pinsindividually to the channel when the crank is moved to its said lowerposition; D. a plunger assembly including a plunger pin which isreciprocal within the said channel for pin driving purposes; from aloaded position to a pin driving position; E. a trigger assemblyoperatively and releasably engaged with the plunger assembly to controlthe reciprocation of the plunger; and F. power means to move portions ofthe trigger assembly and the plunger assembly relative to the grill barguide when a construction member is inserted into the said intake slot.2. said pin chamber section including pin feed means to introduce pinsinteriorly,
 2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the power means includea micro switch positioned in the said pin chamber section.
 3. Theinvention of claim 2 and a hydraulic cylinder responsive to function ofthe micro switch, the hydraulic cylinder acting to pull the plunger to aloaded position upon oeration of the mirco switch.
 3. said pin chambersection including the pin pickup means to feed pins individually to thechannel when the crank is moved to its said lower position; D. a plungerassembly including a plunger pin which is reciprocal within the saidchannel for pin driving purposes; from a loaded position to a pindriving position; E. a trigger assembly operatively and releasablyengaged with the plunger assembly to control the reciprocation of theplunger; and F. power means to move portions of the trigger assembly andthe plunger assembly relative to the grill bar guide when a constructionmember is inserted into the said intake slot.
 4. The invention of claim3 wherein the end of the construction member functions the micro switchwhen the construction member fully seats within the intake slot.
 5. Theinvention of claim 4 wherein insertion of construction member into theintake slot also operates the crank to its said lower position.
 6. Theinvention of claim 5 wherein the trigger assembly includes a pivotaltrigger, said trigger terminating forwardly in a hook and rearwardly inan inclined surface, the said hook releasably engaging the said plungerassembly.
 7. The invention of claim 6 and a roller positioned rearwardlyof the trigger, the said inclined surface interacting with the roller topivot the trigger when the power means pull the trigger rearwardly tothereby release the hook from the plunger assembly.
 8. The invention ofclaim 7 wherein the plunger assembly includes a stationary plunger blockand a plunger body which is reciprocal with respect to the plungerblock, said plunger body terminating forwardly ina shoulder andrearwardly in a trigger block, the said plunger pin projecting forwardlyfrom the shoulder.
 9. The invention of claim 8 wherein a first springbiases between the plunger block and the shoulder, said first springbuilding up energy when the trigger assembly is pulled rearwardly, saidenergy propelling the plunger forwardly for pin driving puRposes whenthe hook is released from the plunger assembly.
 10. The invention ofclaim 9 and a second spring which biases between the plunger block andthe trigger block, said second spring building up energy when theplunger is propelled forwardly, said energy serving to urge the plungerrearwardly following completion of the pin driving until the hookreengages the plunger assembly.
 11. The invention of claim 10 whereinthe said hook releasably engages the trigger block.
 12. The invention ofclaim 11 wherein the hook is provided with a bottom cam surface and thetrigger block is provided with an upper cam surface, the said upper andlower cam surfaces sliding relative to each other as the plunger ispropelled rearwardly, said cam surfaces interacting to pivot the triggerto allow the hook to engage the trigger block.